Abstract
Recent research highlights teachers’ key role as language policy interpreters, yet few studies have explored whether and how teachers learn about policy interpretation. This article explores how language policy interpretation is addressed within a statewide teacher education initiative in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Since 2012, the state has required most teachers to receive a state-approved endorsement in Sheltered English Immersion (SEI), an increasingly popular model for teaching emergent bilinguals. Initially administered in the context of the state’s controversial English-only education policy, this endorsement was the result of complex policy dynamics. Since few studies have engaged the perspective of teacher educators directly, this article draws on interviews with teacher educators across the state who played a pivotal role in this initiative. Findings show that some teacher educators prioritized policy interpretation in their work with teachers, while others engaged in complex discursive moves by which to avoid the topic of policy. Applying the theoretical lens of governmentality, this study demonstrates the process by which language policy is often positioned as too “political” for teachers, as well as how teacher educators themselves engaged in self-censorship on the topic of language policy. These findings have implications for teacher education and professional development, bringing into question the degree of support teachers are given to act as language policy interpreters.
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Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the reviewers and editors for their insightful commentary, as well as Patrick Proctor, Anne Homza, Rebecca Lowenhaupt, and Kara Viesca for feedback on earlier versions of this manuscript. This research was supported by a grant from the International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF).
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Chang-Bacon, C.K. ‘I don’t think that’s really their wheelhouse’: governing language policy interpretation in teacher education. Lang Policy 21, 25–46 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-021-09588-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-021-09588-y